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This article is a transcribed edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in October of 2023. For the original video go to https://youtu.be/l31Y535tYBw
Mike: Why is this so important to Bob? Well, Bob has been diagnosed with ataxia which greatly affects his balance and he has tried many different ways to improve it.
Brad: Bob is going to offer his opinion, and I would say his expert opinion, as a veteran therapist and someone with ataxia, and rate these activities from 0 to 10 and we even have scorecards. It's going to be official.
Mike: Now the ataxia has also affected Bob's speech so he's not going to talk too much during this video.
Brad: So the first thing Bob tried was working with his diet to improve his balance and walking. Now he's following Dr. Wahls who's a physician and she has MS. She improved her condition from being in a wheelchair to being able to walk with a cane again, just through her diet.
Bob: Right.
Mike: Now the goal of this diet was to help her cerebellum, which is your coordination center, produce new mitochondria, which are the powerhouse of each cell, which could help bring back balance and walking. So Bob tried this.
Bob: Correct.
Mike: Now the diet is pretty restrictive for the average person. It includes eating things such as meat and vegetables. You have to cut out dairy, gluten, and sugar as well. So it's not meant for everyone, but Bob thought he would give it a try. Now he did not see a lot of improvement personally with his balance, but he does think it would be good for people who have MS, or possibly some type of head injury issue they've had.
Bob: It helped with some stomach issues. But for my ataxia, I would rank it 1 out of 10.
Brad: 1 out of 10. So, let's see what we have next. All right, the second thing that Bob tried was strengthening. Now strengthening is supposedly related to balance significantly in some people's book. So he tried those, exercises from the hips and below. Mike, more details, please.
Mike: Now the point of doing these strengthening exercises is to help Bob get off of a chair, or on the floor if he happens to fall. So the focus is going to be on the hips and knees. Now the first exercise Bob recommends, and he found very helpful, is called the split squat. It is kind of a lunge variation and it's really good for practicing kneeling down to the floor and getting up.
Mike: The next exercise Bob recommends is doing some sort of hip abduction exercise. That means bringing your hip out to the side to help strengthen the abductors, which help with walking.
Mike: And the last thing he did were some hip circles while laying on his back just to get some mobility moving in his legs.
Bob: I rank the strengthening exercises a 3 out of 10.
Brad: The third thing that Bob tried was standard balance activities. These are activities that, as therapists, we've used over the years and it'll be very clear in just a second. Mike?
Mike: So the first thing Bob liked to do is called tandem walking. So he would hold onto a railing at home, or you can do it with a cane, or assisted device, and you're going to simply go heel to toe while walking. Try to keep your balance. This is very challenging for some to make sure to hold onto something for your balance.
Mike: Also, Bob did some sidestepping, which is simply stepping sideways. Again, he holds onto a rail for balance.
Mike: Now the third activity Bob also does, you just stay stationary. make sure to have a walker or chair, something in front of you, and you're supposed to bring your feet close together, like this. You'll notice most people, if they have poor balance, have a wider base of support. Simply standing with a narrow base for a duration of time, maybe 15, to 30 seconds, will be enough of a balance challenge for them.
Brad: So Bob, what is your ranking for these activities?
Bob: I'd rank it a 3 out of 10.
Brad: 3 over 10, all right. I was expecting a little higher on that. Now the fourth thing that Bob worked with was his vestibular system. Now that's within your ear. Common symptoms that happened with Bob, as well as other people, is when you turn your head things start to get dizzy and obviously, bad for balance. Now these exercises, that Bob is demonstrating right now, are what he did. We did a whole video on this, but Mike can you explain a little more about this before Bob hits me?
Mike: So Bob is doing the more advanced versions while he's trying to track his thumb with head movements right now. This was probably the most challenging variation. If you're just beginning, you don't even have to have your thumb up, and you can just practice turning your head side to side, or up and down. Now Bob is tracking his thumb going up and down as well. Different people may have different issues going side to side, or up and down. So focus on which ones you need work on.
Bob: At first, I would get dizzy when practicing it, but after a while, you adapt and improve. It's definitely worthwhile. I rank it a 4 out of 10.
Brad: Alright, 4 out of 10. This is one that people with vertigo would also use as well.
Bob: Yeah, I agree.
Brad: Alright, the fifth thing that Bob tried was some high-tech device. It's called the stochastic resonance device. Now that's a lot of words, but it all boils down to a device like this. It's Velcro, wraps around the leg in this position, and here, this little device works with your phone through an app, and it does vibration which has a specific vibration that you go through your app on your phone, you work with it.
Brad: It stimulates the nerves which helps muscle contraction and coordination. Now this has been successful with some people that we'll get more into. Bob uses it just below the knee. It also can be used on the ankle. For the arms, it gets placed just below the elbow. And actually, it can be used for voice and speech as well, where you wrap it around your neck.
Bob: Yeah, I do.
Brad: Very interesting. It's very new. It does not work with everybody. But Mike, can you talk a little more about it?
Mike: Now, before Bob started using this he did a six-minute walk test. It is a common practice in physical therapy. You see how far you can walk in six minutes. This includes your rest time, as well, in these six minutes. Anyway, Bob tested this out, and after wearing this for three months he found he could walk 100 yards further, as well as stumbling less, and he was able to pick up his feet more.
Bob: I would give it a 6 out of 10.
Bob: I really like it.
Brad: Good deal. Are we going to talk about how to get one?
Bob: Yeah, we will.
Brad: Alright, first of all, we're going to show you two very successful cases that use this device. The first is on a 78-year-old woman, and the next one is on an 87-year-old woman. Mike, do you want to give a little more detail?
Mike: So this is Linda, a 78-year-old who has left knee pain and has had some increased falls recently. As you can see, in the left picture she's not wearing the device. In the middle, she has the device. On the right, she has been wearing it for two hours and you can see the significant change in her walking pattern.
Brad: Alright, our next patient is Olga. She's an 87-year-old female who had spinal decompression surgery, as well as mini-strokes, and a few other complications, really causing her walking problems.
Mike: She has used a walker for over three years and has not been able to use a cane safely within this time. After wearing the device on both ankles for two minutes, she was able to stand up and walk using a cane approximately 60 feet without any assistance.
Brad: That's big progress. Alright, now this stochastic device that Bob is using, he gave a a good rating. We have absolutely zero affiliation with this company but we do have a link to it, https://accelera.us/product/sr-100/. It's rather expensive, but if you use the code BobandBRad2023 they will offer 5% off and free shipping. So you can decide if you'd like to go with that route.
Mike: And if you'd like to check out another video on how to improve your balance you can click on the video "25 Second Balance Exercises That Stop Falls (PDF Printout)."
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